Remedy
by Shukketsu-Sakura
Summary: Neji is the great Hyuuga prodigy, nothing and no one can get to him, right? When you look beneath the surface, this isn't the case... [NejiSaku]
1. Smile

_You never seem to be happy...  
About anything at all.  
Like you have sad emotions...  
Just waiting to break free.  
I don't know about your past...  
And I won't cut at scarred surfaces.  
But please let me be...  
The perfect remedy for a broken heart._

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The sky was gray, and a humid air hung low in the atmosphere. Rain was on it's way.

Neji leaned on the banister of the bridge where Naruto and his friends usually met up, and looked at his reflection in the water below…tears gently falling into the oddly still river and rippling its surface. One fell into his reflection, wavering it to the point where it could no longer be recognized as himself.

He sniffed and moved from the railing, and walked over to the cement wall that lined the river. He sat on the edge, his legs dangling about three inches from the water's surface. He stared sadly at nothing, tears running down his cheeks as he thought…

Being lost in such musings, he didn't notice the person that walked up behind him. He took a jerky breath and closed his eyes, the tears leaking from under his lids.

"Neji?" He heard a soft voice say from behind him. He snapped his head around, staring at the person with wet eyes. "Are you alright?" It was a girl, one he had seen before. _'She…she's one of Uzumaki's friends!'_

He turned his head back around just as fast as he had looked at her, his cheeks red and tears still staining his face. "I'm fine." He answered in an unstable voice.

"Are you sure?" She asked, putting one small hand on his shoulder. He tensed and reddened more.

"YES!" He shouted at her, causing her to flinch. "I'M FINE!"

She grabbed his upper arm lightly, and began to stand at her full height from her stooped posture. He stood with her instinctively, and glared at her while he still let tears freely flow.

"What do you want?!" He shouted, watching her eyes move to his chest. His eyebrows furrowed as he soon became angry with her. "Tell me what you wa—huh?" Her hand began to glow a very bright green, though it was dim. She placed her hand over his chest where his heart was, a soothing coolness flooding him. His eyes went wide, not knowing what she was doing.

"Neji," She addressed him, a gentle smile adorning her face. "What does this to you?" She asked, looking into his eyes.

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong with me!" He defied, being stubborn as he was.

"Your heart…I can tell you're sad. I may be weak, but I am not stupid." She said, focusing her gaze back on his chest and her hand.

His stare softened, fresh tears rolling down his face. "It's nothing." He said simply, lowering his eyes to the river.

"I know you don't know me much at all, but I know of you. The great Hyuuga prodigy, and most likely greatest ninja ever to come of the Hidden Leaf Village. I know all about you, Neji Hyuuga. What everyone else knows. But…" She looked up at him. "I know something they don't. Their great ninja, their wonderful genius, the Hyuuga successor…is torn up inside." She looked back at her hand.

Tears built up in his eyes faster than they could fall, causing his vision to blur. She was right.

"Just stay here a little longer…let me be the cure for your broken heart. I won't ask you to spill any information, just…let me make you smile." She said, staring into his silvery-white eyes.

Neji knitted his eyebrows together again, and continued to cry. "Why would you help me? Why would you come to a stranger and offer to make them happy?"

"Because," She said. "I felt the same way a long time ago. Then I met Naruto." She laughed lightly at that. "He made me smile…and I felt a little bit better every time." She broke the connection she had with his body and stepped back from him. "And maybe if I'm lucky, I can help you do the same thing, Neji Hyuuga." She smiled kindly to him, turned around, and walked away.

He watched her go, the tears drying and leaving residue on his face. He looked down at the ground, and then back up to her back. _'She's strange…but…in a good way…'_ His gaze on her softened, and he felt like he should smile. But he didn't. _'I hope to see you again…'_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

review if you liked it…

please don't review if you didn't.

I appreciate it.

--Shukketsu-Sakura


	2. Autumn's Lure

Next chapter of Remedy, hope you guys like it!!

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sakura caressed the cheek of her patient, warm but unmoving. "Shikamaru, I wish you'd wake up." She smiled slightly as he stirred, the angel-like look on his face never leaving.

His eyelids lifted lazily, showing dilated brown irises. He opened his eyes the rest of the way but squinted, the light flooding in from the window next to him irritating him. "Sakura…?" He called to her weakly, obviously still sleepy. "You there?"

She traced her finger to the collar of his vest, tugging on it lightly. "I'm right here, Shikamaru. How do you feel?"

He opened his eyes fully, greeted with the face of his pretty, green-eyed nurse. "Better. What happened, anyway?"

"You were on a mission and got some injuries…a broken wrist and a gash in your leg." She made a face of disgust. He looked a bit worried, and gulped. Then she smiled. "But you're okay now; it's alright."

He smiled, relieved. "Good. I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes, Sakura." He began to sit up, but a sharp pain went through his leg. He hissed and squeezed his eyes shut, reaching for his right calf.

"You'll need to stay in bed here for today," She explained, pushing on his chest gently to lay him down on his pillow. "You need to regain your chakra so you can get your energy back." He nodded, and settled back into the sheets.

Sakura stood from sitting on the side of his bed, and straightened her skirt in a professional manner. "I'm really sorry, but it's the end of my shift. I'm heading home."

"Alright," Shikamaru said, giving one brief wave and smiling to her. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Sure thing," She leaned over him and kissed him on the cheek, giggling at the heat radiating from his face. "Bye, Shikamaru."

She walked outside into the chilly October air, admiring the colors of autumn. She slung the small cotton jacket over her shoulders, not bothering to put her arms in the sleeves.

She was about half a mile from her apartment, but she had decided that she liked it better outside. She sat on a wooden bench on the side of the sidewalk, staring at the gray sky against the warm colors of the trees around Konoha.

She sighed and stood up, ready to return home and soak in a nice, hot bubble bath. She admired the leaves that littered the ground, making such amusing crunching noises when she stepped on them.

She saw one that was orange with speckles of red, and it still had the luster of a live leaf. She bent over and picked it up, rubbing her thumb over the smooth surface.

She continued walking, studying the leaf as she did so. It was a remarkable leaf, it really was. The shine was so clear that she could see the reflection of the sky in it, and the colors were so perfectly toned that she could note where the orange stopped and the red began. A beautiful, perfect leaf.

Then she saw a tiny brown edge on it. It was crisp to the touch, and fell off when she barely put her finger to it. She looked on the edges of the leaf and saw decaying pieces. This leaf wasn't as perfect as she thought.

'_Just like…Neji…'_ She thought, recalling the day she offered Neji help. She frowned sadly and stuck the leaf into the pocket over her left breast, the stem sticking up.

She looked down at the ground and continued to do so as she walked home; saddened at the fact that she hadn't helped him at all. There were footsteps coming from the opposite direction, and then her shoulder collided with someone else's.

"Sorry." She mumbled, carrying on with her task of getting home.

"Pardon me." A deep voice responded. Her head shot up at the sound of his voice. Something in the tone of his speech caught her attention. 'Neji…' She turned around and sure enough, the long brown hair of said Hyuuga prodigy swayed with the rhythm of his stride.

"Neji?" She called. He stopped and turned in one swift, graceful motion, and stared back at her. His eyes gleamed silver in the midday light, capturing her interest.

"Yes?" he called back, in a hurry to get this over with. He strolled over to her, his eyes never leaving hers. "Is there something you want?"

She broke their gaze, shifting her weight on her feet uneasily. "Neji, I….don't you remember me?" She asked, looking back into his eyes. "From that day when you were crying on the bridge?"

He knitted his brow in thought. _'On the bridge…I was crying…she was…_the pink haired girl!_' _He huffed in acknowledgement, and blinked slowly. "Yes, I do remember you."

She smiled faintly. "Well…how have you been?" She asked for lack of anything better to talk about.

"Fine." He answered bluntly, his half-lidded eyes staring into hers uninterestedly.

"That's what you said at the bridge," She lowered her head. "But you didn't mean it."

His eyes widened. How would _she_ know? "Humph." He turned away from her.

She pressed her now glowing hand to his back, the familiar and soothing coolness flooding him once again. There were underlying waves of heat coming from her hand now, and it relaxed him to the point of going slack-jaw. His mouth hung slightly open, his eyelids dropping to his mid-eye, and a sigh made his shoulders slump.

She chuckled to herself, and removed her hand. He immediately tensed, sanding straight and spinning around to face her. "Why?" He asked brusquely, slitting his eyes.

"Because you wouldn't listen." She walked over to a tree, and sat down underneath it. "Come sit." She patted the grass next to her as she crossed her legs into a comfortable position.

He walked over to the tree and reluctantly obliged, crossing his legs as well. "What is it that you want, woman?"

"My name isn't woman, okay?" She stated, aggravated. "It's Haruno Sakura."

"Well Haruno, what do you want?" He asked, resting his forearms on his knees.

She looked at him blankly, blinking several times. Then she got onto her knees and scooted in front of him. She reached out with both hands and cupped his cheeks, smiling ever-so gently.

She put either thumb at the corners of his mouth and pushed them up, making a false smile on Neji's lips. "I want that to happen," She moved her thumbs, and his mouth went back into a thin line. "Without my help."

A surprised look appeared on his face, his eyes widening and his mouth opening a little. She wanted him to smile.

"Neji, I want to make you smile. Whatever I have to do, I'll do it." She moved her hands from his face, and into her lap. She looked down at them. "I want to make you happy…seeing you sad is like going through my pain all over again. Because on the outside I was fine, but on the inside…" She looked at the trees around them. "I was in a lot of pain. It wasn't safe at my house, and my relatives frowned on me because I was different," She pulled at her hair lightly for emphasis. "I hated it."

He listened intently, puzzled at how people could frown upon such a beautiful young lady. He wouldn't ever tell her out loud that he thought so. "But Kakashi-sensei took me away from all of that and the Yamanakas took me in." She smiled at the memory.

She looked at him, her hair hanging in her face prettily. He gulped, suddenly intrigued with the color of her eyes. He stared unblinkingly, and then leaned back onto the tree. He harrumphed and closed his eyes. "I'm not telling you what happened to me."

"I didn't ask you to."

"But you want to know."

"No I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't"

"Well," He sat up, and looked into her eyes again. "Bad things. That's all I'll say." He sighed, and closed his eyes.

Sakura watched him breathe oddly; she could swear that she saw a tear at the corner of his right eye. "Neji?"

He looked up at her, his eyes sad and his frown un-angry.

"Are you okay?"

He looked down at the ground. "I'm fine."

She frowned sadly at his lie, and set her hand on his shoulder. "You…aren't lying to me?"

He gazed at her forlornly, and felt ashamed for lying. "No. I'm fine."

She stood and brought him up with her. "Okay. Neji, I'm gonna go now, I need to get home."

"Let me take you."

She was shocked at his sudden outburst of kindness; gawking at him. "Neji—"

"Please, let me take you home, Sakura." He held out his hand politely, and she took it. He turned her around and let go of her hand. He led her to her apartment.

They arrived on her stoop, and he stayed at the bottom of her steps. "Thank you, Neji."

"You're welcome, Sakura." He turned to leave.

"Neji!" Sakura called. He turned to face her. "Are you sure you're alright?" His gaze was soft, but cheerless.

"I'm. Fine."

"Okay…goodnight, Neji."

"Goodnight, Haruno."

Sakura opened the door into the small corridor of stairs that leads to her apartment door. "I want you to smile, Neji…for your father…"


End file.
